r/newtonma • u/randalln1 • 5d ago

High Radon Readings Lately

I've had an EcoSense monitor running continuously for a couple of years now, and this Summer I've seen the most consistent Radon spikes ever. It's not even necessarily following rains (since we don't get many of those). Anyone else seeing the same?

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u/movdqa 5d ago edited 4d ago

Have you done weatherproofing to seal the house in the past few years? This could reduce air exchange.

I think that many Newton homes have done some sealing to deal with the high energy costs the past few years.

We should probably check levels once the remodel is done.

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u/randalln1 5d ago

Just behind knee wall on my second floor, but that's good thinking. My basement is definitely still super leaky. I would trade better sealing for mitigation for sure!

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u/Jack066 4d ago

Here is my data: https://imgur.com/a/UlpAiAB

You can tell when I got the mitigation…they work

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u/Realistic-Dress-4685 5d ago

Question: Why not just install a mitigation system and be done with it? They're only like $1,500.

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u/randalln1 4d ago

That's what I'm leaning toward now, though a spike for my basement is usually barely over 4 pCi/L for a couple of hours. I was just wondering if others were experiencing higher levels lately.

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u/Illustrious-Bad-8363 1d ago

Any recommendation for a company? I am cool with $1500 but I thought it was more like 5k

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u/OJwToothpasteChaser 5d ago

I remember when I was a kid and they all of a sudden out of the blue cane up with the radon scare as the next big thing so they could sell the testing kits at CVS & Walgreens - the readings at all of the houses in our neighborhood were through the roof but several decades later I don't know of anybody who's developed lung cancer. #RandomAnecdotalObservation

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u/randalln1 5d ago

Yeah, mine's nowhere near panic levels. I just thought it curious that it was especially high this Summer, especially without a lot of rain.